Making a will is an essential part of protecting your assets for those you leave behind. And if you have dependants, your will could be used to set out what your wishes are for them in the event of your death, including naming those you wish to care for them.

Worries over money and debt can soon take their toll, leaving people feeling stressed and anxious. Whatever the reasons behind your debt, it is important to deal with the issues you are facing. Ignoring requests for payment or other communications from your creditors will, in the longer term, only make matters worse.

Debt can quickly creep up on people. Maybe it is because of a period of unemployment, unexpected costs, the breakdown of a relationship or even a lack of understanding of how best to manage your money.

Whatever the reason, if you find yourself facing debt you can no longer manage, do not bury your head in the sand and hope that it will go away.

The debt recovery process

While not every creditor will follow the exact same debt recovery process and timeframe, in general terms you can expect the following when you miss payment(s):

If you are faced with a workplace dispute it can be unsettling. Fear of losing your livelihood and the emotional strain a dispute can cause all add up to make the process stressful.

Employers also have much at stake, including a loss of reputation, the costs of defending the case and the time the case takes up. Time that could be spent on growing the business.

What constitutes a workplace dispute?

Workplace disputes between employers and employees can vary, though typically include matters such as:

Dealing with the legal aspects of the death of a loved one can be emotionally taxing. Add to this the complexities that come with being the person(s) left to sort through the deceased person’s assets, and it makes for a stressful time.

Often unsure of where to start, read on to learn about probate, the process and when you need to seek legal advice.

Celebrating 30 years in business in 2017, Smith Partnership, one of the largest firms of solicitors in the East Midlands, is often surprised by the recurring issues faced by people when going through a stressful divorce process.

Ruth Jones, Partner from the Family Law team at Smith Partnership spoke about the issues she had recently read about happening in Australia, which are commonplace in the UK as well:

The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 allows a child to claim maintenance (only) from a deceased parent’s estate, where the child thinks that reasonable financial provision has not been made for them. It is commonly thought, and accepted, that the Act was designed with minor children in mind, and of course maintenance payments for minor children are commonplace.

1. Don’t panic. There are no time limits for you to deal with things, except you have five days in which to register the death at with the Registrar of Births, Deaths & Marriages.
2. Contact us.

Smith Partnership Solicitors, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, is offering advice to the general public as the new tax year in April 2017 brings with it the first major change to the Inheritance Tax law since 2007.

There is a whole host of reasons and circumstances that can leave people’s finances in disarray. Even with the best of intentions, there are times when situations occur and keeping up with repayments is not possible.

If you find yourself facing such a situation, it can be easy to want to hide and ignore demands for payment. However, hiding from your creditors will not make the situation go away and could even mean you incur extra charges and cause damage to your credit score; affecting future financing options.